1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a improved bullet targets. More specifically, the present invention relates to targets which improve the visual stimulation and/or function of the target to improve shooter abilities and to decrease broken targets.
2. State of the Art
In order to maintain proficiency in the use of firearms, it is common for law enforcement officers and sportsmen to engage in target practice. While many perceive target practice as simply a method for improving accuracy, it is important for law enforcement officers and the like to conduct target practice in scenarios which imitate real life situations. While accuracy is important for law enforcement officers, appropriate use of deadly force is even more important. While hitting a perpetrator in the arm or leg may cause some additional risk to the officer, firing at an innocent bystander or firing at a perpetrator who is not a risk raises greater concerns. Each year considerable controversy is raised by law enforcement officers who shoot unarmed individuals or otherwise use deadly force when not appropriate.
In order to properly train police officers, it is important that they develop both hand-eye coordination and that they receive sensor stimulation which is associated with actual conditions. Thus, it is important for law enforcement officers to be able to see when a target has been hit. It is also important that the target remain upright sufficiently to simulate the reactions of a typical target. Thus, for example, a target which falls when hit by a single shot may not provide appropriate stimulus to the officer, when a typical perpetrator would take several rounds before being sufficiently incapacitated that he would no longer pose a threat.
It is also important to train officers by requiring them to repeatedly be in situations in which they are forced to decide whether the target poses a threat within a fraction of a second. In real life situations, hesitating to fire can cost the officer his life. Firing too quickly can result in the death of an innocent party.
While there are high-tech shooting ranges which are configured to place an officer in a variety of situations, such shooting ranges are too expensive for many law enforcement agencies. Additionally, many existing shooting ranges cannot be readily adapted to use the technological advances. Thus, there is a need for simple bullet targets which provide improved situation stimulus and improved wear.